Vehicle vision system

Abstract

Vehicle visual systems are disclosed to produce seamless and uniform surround-view images of the vehicle using a number of Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) lens cameras and optionally HUD systems. A distributive system architecture wherein individual cameras are capable of performing various image transformations allows a flexible and resource efficient image processing scheme.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A vehicle vision system comprising:
 a plurality of Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) lens cameras mounted on a plurality of sides of a vehicle, each camera providing a corresponding UWA feed;
 at least one Head-UP-Display (HUD) comprising a Geometry and Color (GCP) processing unit, wherein the at least one HUD is configured to:
 receive at least one UWA feed; and 
 pre-process the at least one UWA feed, by applying a plurality of geometry and color transformations to the corresponding UWA feed, in preparation for a seamless surround-view image construction; 
 
 and a central logic configured to combine the pre-processed UWA feeds provided by the corresponding at least one HUD and output a surround-view image of the vehicle; 
 
 wherein at least one of the surround-view output image, one or more of the UWA feeds, and one or more of the transformed UWA feeds are projected on a virtual surface in front of windshield of the vehicle by the at least one HUD. 
 
     
     
       2. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein one HUD is further configured to command other HUDs, the plurality of cameras and the central logic. 
     
     
       3. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein the central logic comprises a GCP unit. 
     
     
       4. The vehicle vision system of  claim 3 , wherein the central logic is further configured to command the plurality of cameras and the plurality of HUDs. 
     
     
       5. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of cameras comprises a GCP unit. 
     
     
       6. The vehicle vision system of  claim 5 , wherein one camera from the plurality of cameras is further configured to command other cameras, the plurality of HUDs and the central logic. 
     
     
       7. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cameras, the at least one HUD, and the central logic comprise a communication means to communicate with one another via a communication network. 
     
     
       8. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein the GCP pre-processing of the UWA feeds comprises one or more of:
 selecting a viewing perspective in the corresponding UWA feed according to a viewing display mode instruction; 
 applying a first transformation to the selected viewing perspective to correct for perspective distortion of the UWA feed; 
 applying a second transformation to the perspective corrected UWA feed to correct for windshield distortion and projection geometric distortions; and 
 adjusting brightness of the geometric UWA feeds for seamless blending of overlapped image areas. 
 
     
     
       9. The vehicle vision system of  claim 8 , wherein the display mode is selected automatically as triggered by changes in driving conditions. 
     
     
       10. The vehicle vision system of  claim 8 , wherein the display modes is selected manually. 
     
     
       11. The vehicle vision system of  claim 8 , wherein the display mode is a top-down view. 
     
     
       12. The vehicle vision system of  claim 8 , wherein the display mode is a panoramic surround-view. 
     
     
       13. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein the virtual images corresponding to different projection units are displayed at different depths relative to windshield. 
     
     
       14. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is mirror-less. 
     
     
       15. The vehicle vision system of  claim 1 , wherein augmented reality is enabled on the virtual display. 
     
     
       16. A method for displaying a surround-view image of a vehicle, said method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) feeds, captured by a corresponding plurality of UWA lens cameras mounted on a plurality of sides of the vehicle, by at least one Head-UP-Display (HUD) comprising a Geometry and Color Processing (GCP) unit; 
 pre-processing the plurality of received Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) feeds, by applying a plurality of geometry and color transformations to the corresponding UWA feed, in preparation for a seamless surround-view image construction by the at least one HUD; 
 combining the pre-processed UWA feeds, provided by the corresponding at least one HUD, using a central logic to output the surround-view image of the vehicle; and 
 projecting at least one of the surround-view output image, one or more of the UWA feeds, and one or more of the pre-processed UWA feeds on a virtual surface in front of windshield of the vehicle through the at least one Head-UP-Display (HUD). 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of cameras, the at least one HUD, and the central logic comprise a communication means to communicate with one another via a communication network. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one HUD is configured to command other HUDs, the plurality of cameras and the central logic. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the central logic comprises a GCP unit. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , wherein the central logic is further configured to command the plurality of cameras and the at least one HUD. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 16 , wherein each camera of the plurality of cameras comprises a GCP unit. 
     
     
       22. The method system of  claim 21 , wherein one camera from the plurality of cameras is further configured to command other cameras, the at least one HUD and the central logic. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 16 , wherein one camera from the plurality of cameras is configured to command other cameras and the central logic. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the pre-processing of the UWA feeds is achieved by one or more of:
 selecting a viewing perspective in the correspond UWA feed according to a display mode instruction; 
 applying a first transformation to the selected viewing perspective to correct for perspective distortion of the UWA feed; 
 applying a second transformation to the perspective corrected UWA feed to correct for windshield distortion and projection geometric distortions; and 
 adjusting brightness of the perspective corrected plurality of UWA feeds for seamless blending of overlapped image areas. 
 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the display mode is selected automatically as triggered by changes in driving conditions. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the display modes is selected manually. 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the display mode is a top-down surround-view. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the display mode is a panoramic surround-view.